Metals Fall amid Increasing US-China Tensions, Gold Stable

Almost all metals fell today amid risk aversion caused by the arrest of a top executive of China’s tech giant Huawei. Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada and is going to be extradited to the United States to face charges of dealings with Iran that violate US sanctions. The news led to increasing fears of a trade war between the USA and China, just when it looked like the relationship between the world’s two biggest economies is improving.

Gold managed to avoid losses on Thursday, etching small gains. Some markets analysts said that the metal rallied due to risk aversion, profiting from its role as a safe haven. The weak US dollar and falling chances for an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve also played in favor of bullion.

Contract for delivery of gold in February inched up 0.07% to $1,243.5 per troy ounce as of 19:57 GMT on COMEX today. March silver declined 0.25% to $14.55 per ounce. Spot price for platinum slid 1.47% to $788.42 per ounce, while palladium sank as much as 3.41% to $1,200.08 per ounce. Futures for delivery of copper in March declined 1.12% to $2.743 per pound.

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